Paul has spoken of the grace of God which has provided us with forgiveness, redemption, salvation and the Holy Spirit. He has acknowledged the faith and love of the Ephesian Christians and prayed for them. He moves on to remind those who read of the state of life before one becomes a Christian. He uses the good news/bad news approach. He tells the bad news first. He wants to remind us of our former way of life. He thus contrasts the natural human state with the change that God makes through his grace. Those who live without Jesus Christ are dead in transgressions. The Christian Gospel confronts the world with the truth of its situation. At no time in history has humanity been able to establish a society free from evil. If we cut ourselves off from God we are simply in a state of living death.

The world in which we live is under the influence of powers that seek not the good of humans. The world is society organised apart from God. The “spirit of the age” is controlled by Satan. The evidence is clearly before us daily. Paul then reminds Christians that they were also once in this condition. We were, he says, “by nature objects of wrath.” The Fall has impacted upon every person. Wrath does not mean God has temper tantrums etc. It is His divine reaction to evil, his personal, righteous hostility and refusal to compromise with it. We need to understand the truth of the human predicament before we can understand the good news of the Gospel. The good news is that God has acted in and through Jesus Christ to overcome the powers of evil and reconcile us to himself, making us alive in Christ.

By grace we have been saved. God has stepped in and made a difference. Resurrection is possible. New life is now available to all. Christians have been transferred from death to life, to a new quality of life. We did not deserve this. It is the result of God’s love and grace. There is also a future promise, that we will be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. Made alive with Christ we, with Paul, give thanks for the riches of God’s grace and mercy towards us.